Anyone Buying The new Pontiac Solstice?

[hershie]

I just put a (refundable) downpayment on the sister car to the Pontiac Solstice - the Saturn Sky which will not be in production for another 8 months or so. Would love to hear comments. I rushed to put a deposit down as there is a huge waiting list for the Solstice and soon for the Sky too. It is a new 2 seat Roadster that is not overly powerful (170 HP) but I think is quite handsome and has a much wider footprint than a Miata for example so it hopefully won't be too compact. It is going for around $27,500 US which is a couple $K more than the Solstice and I think is more attractive than the Solstice as well although they share the same platform...

[hershie]

ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION
Engine 2.4-liter, 16-valve, inline-4 Ecotec? with Variable Valve Timing
Horsepower 170 @ 6,400 rpm1
Torque (ft. lbs.) 162 @ 4,800 rpm1
Transmission 5-speed manual with short-throw shifter and self-adjusting clutch
Available electronically controlled 5-speed automatic

CHASSIS
Drivetrain Front engine / rear-wheel drive
Available torque-sensing limited slip differential
Body construction Lower dominant, integral hydroformed tube and stamped steel structure
Suspension Four-wheel independent SLA with coil-over-Bilstein monotube shocks
Front and rear hollow stabilizer bars with ball-joint links
Steering Hydraulic power-assisted rack-and-pinion
Brakes Four-wheel disc with ABS
Wheels / Tires 18-inch flangeless alloy wheels equipped with Goodyear P245/ 45 performance tires

WEIGHT AND DIMENSIONS
Curb weight 2,860 lbs.
Weight distribution Near 50/50
Length 161.1 in.
Wheelbase 95.1 in.
Track (front / rear) 60.5 in. / 61.2 in.
Width 71.4 in.
Height 50.1 in.

COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE
Cloth convertible top with defroster-equipped glass rear window
Air conditioning
Power windows, door locks and exterior mirrors
Extended-range remote keyless entry
Cruise control
CD player with AM / FM stereo and six speakers
Available six-disc, in-dash CD/ MP3 player with seven-speaker Monsoon® audio system
Available XM Satellite Radio2
Available Leather Appointments

SAFETY
OnStar® System with one-year Safe & Sound Service Plan3
Dual-stage front air bags with Passenger Sensing System4
Three-point safety belts with pretensioners and energy-absorbing retractors
Engine-immobilizing theft-deterrent feature
Automatic projector-beam halogen headlamps
Projector-beam halogen foglamps.
The vehicle shown and described is a pre-production model; the actual production model may vary.
1Preliminary estimate based on GM testing. 2Ser
vice fees apply. Available only in the 48 contiguous United States. Visit www.gm.xmradio.com for system details. 3Call 1-888-4ONSTAR
(1-888-466-7827) or visit www.onstar.com for system limitations and details. 4Always use safety belts and proper child restraints. Even in vehicles equipped with air bags and the
Passenger Sensing System, children are safer when properly secured in a rear seat. Never place a rear-facing infant restraint in the front seat of any vehicle equipped with an active air
bag. See your vehicle Owner?s Handbook and child-safety seat instructions for more information.
©2005 Saturn Corporation. Saturn and its logo are registered trademarks of Saturn Corporation.
People first is a trademark of Saturn Corporation. SKY is a trademark of Saturn Corporation.
THIS IS THE SATURN SKY.
Available early 2006

[Shooting_Manic]

Sweet Car!

I put a deposit on one of the first 1000 Soltice and its expected in here in a week or so.

[hershie]

Originally Posted by Shooting_Manic

Sweet Car!

I put a deposit on one of the first 1000 Soltice and its expected in here in a week or so.

Congrats on the purchase. You were very lucky to be in the 1000 club. Post some pics when you get it.

[Spunky]

Looks like a pretty sweet car..nice

[wargames]

Sweet looking ride

[smack]

she's a little chunky for only 170 hp. 2,860 lbs? in a roadster?

[Elli]

seems a wee bit overpriced to me. Not a lot, but a bit.

[reynold]

Are you going for the red one or the silver one? They both look nice. That's a lovely ride.

[simple simon]

3k lbs + with driver? Dont turn the air on, it wont move out of its own way. 50k miles and its gonna be a dead dog. Its gonna work so hard with only 170 hp at 3k+ lbs

[hershie]

Originally Posted by simple simon

3k lbs + with driver? Dont turn the air on, it wont move out of its own way. 50k miles and its gonna be a dead dog. Its gonna work so hard with only 170 hp at 3k+ lbs

Damn, as I am a pretty heavy guy also, so that does not sound too good.

[hershie]

Originally Posted by reynold

Are you going for the red one or the silver one? They both look nice. That's a lovely ride.

Silver (they have 2 silver colours and i am going with the lighter silver as pictured here). Actually, they said I had no choice, as the dealer was allocated 12 Sky's and I am 9th on the waiting list and they are all silver, manual transmission...

[hershie]

Originally Posted by Elli

seems a wee bit overpriced to me. Not a lot, but a bit.

I thought it was really fairly priced but I could be delusional, as I haven't had the time yet to compare. The hype is that it is a very economical Roadster and they really sharpened their pencils in the manufacturing process to bring it down to that price point.

[hottoddy]

Lighter than the base Miata with appx 30 more HP - I wouldn't worry too much about it. People are HP freaks these days. In reality, true roadsters were not overpowered. If concerned, get the standard tranny or wait for the inevitable "S" turbo model. I'm sure there will also be some easy HP boost in the after-market world.

Miata:
Gross Weight: 2948 lbs.
Horsepower: 142 hp

[GweedZilla]

Quite a cool move for Saturn, with the redline vehicles now this I think they can grab up some of the younger market.

[sniperwolf]

wooohooo.... that's a sweet loking car.. I love the red and black interior..supah hotttttt!

[Doctor Dre]

I hate every saturn car out there ... but I gotta say ... this one looks dope ;)

I like small roadsters but I'm not 5"6 160 pounds ... I'm a bit too large to fit in thoses

[hershie]

Originally Posted by hottoddy

Lighter than the base Miata with appx 30 more HP - I wouldn't worry too much about it. People are HP freaks these days. In reality, true roadsters were not overpowered. If concerned, get the standard tranny or wait for the inevitable "S" turbo model. I'm sure there will also be some easy HP boost in the after-market world.

Miata:
Gross Weight: 2948 lbs.
Horsepower: 142 hp

Thanks for the info. That's a bit of a relief.

[Steve]

that's a nice looking little roadster

I'm sure there will be plenty of ways to caox a few more ponies out of the powerplant, too

[je_rome]

whoa! that's indeed a cool car.. but i also think it is a bit overpriced.

[Vitasoy]

I have to admit the interior, is pretty darn nice.

[hershie]

Another concern is that GM is using a lot of new technology, parts and platform... and it is their first roadster and have just re-tooled a plant to build them, and I get scared at having a car that is in the 1st year of production as they tend to have lots of problems.

Also, I hope this doesn't come out working like the Fiero.

[Manowar]

looks a lot better than the solstice

[shimmy]

I would have bought a Solstice if I didn't have to park the car and open the trunk to close the top, that does work in Florida when rain storms come out of no where at night

[363R]

I wouldn't buy anything in the 1st year of production, there always seems to be problems. You also end up paying more for the car. I would never buy a Pontiac either

[Tom_PM]

Wonder how it handles in the snow. I actually drive my car once in a while hehe
Cant buy something like that here when I need it for pure practical purposes. Maybe in a warmer climate.

[Jollyjoe]

Originally Posted by simple simon

3k lbs + with driver? Dont turn the air on, it wont move out of its own way. 50k miles and its gonna be a dead dog. Its gonna work so hard with only 170 hp at 3k+ lbs

The car produces 170hp and 170lb-ft, and you get 90% of that torque at 1,900rpm...so the car will not be slow that's forsure. The 2.4litre ecotec has VVTI technology which most other amercan made enfgines don't... I think its going to be a buy!

[HpicAnn]

it looks like an excellent new Acquisition!!!

[VeriSexy]

Wow, that car looks hot

[fuzebox]

Originally Posted by hottoddy

Lighter than the base Miata with appx 30 more HP - I wouldn't worry too much about it. People are HP freaks these days. In reality, true roadsters were not overpowered. If concerned, get the standard tranny or wait for the inevitable "S" turbo model. I'm sure there will also be some easy HP boost in the after-market world.

Miata:
Gross Weight: 2948 lbs.
Horsepower: 142 hp

Where are you getting that from?

Every brochure and review I've read on the 2005 Miata puts it at 2400-2500 lbs... The earlier ones were as light as 2100.

Mazda would not sell a Miata pushing 3000lb.

[VeriSexy]

Wait, your planning on buying a car you didn't even test drive??? 170HP is not that strong, a honda civic has 160 HP ............

[Grapesoda]

Pontiac Solstice

[Grapesoda]

http://www.seriouswheels.com/top-200...e-Roadster.htm

[Grapesoda]

http://www.seriouswheels.com/top-200...y-Roadster.htm

[VeriSexy]

You should get the 350z instead, Saturn has a pretty bad name

Will These Rockets Rescue GM's Saturn?

New models will have European styling, leather, chrome -- and higher price tags


Last August, General Motors Corp. (GM ) Chairman G. Richard Wagoner Jr. and his new-car czar, Robert A. Lutz, went to their board of directors with a dicey pitch: They wanted to plow $3 billion into GM's long-suffering Saturn division. GM's directors were understandably concerned. Sales at the 15-year-old unit finished 2004 down 22%, thanks largely to a fiasco with the L-series family car, which bombed so badly that GM took it off the market. Having squandered much of the goodwill generated from its early days of dicker-free showrooms and folksy marketing, Saturn today is mired in red ink, losing as much as $1 billion a year. Many GM insiders think the division would be better left to go the way of Oldsmobile.

Faced with the huge costs of pulling an entire brand off the market -- and one that still has fairly strong buyer loyalty -- the board bought in for another pricey run at fixing Saturn. What sold it was a raft of concept cars -- among them, the racy Sky roadster and stylish Aura sedan -- that GM has been tinkering with for a couple of years and will show at the Detroit Auto Show next week. They also liked Lutz's risky bid to push the brand upscale with more expensive cars. The Sky, which goes on sale late this year, and the Aura, arriving in dealerships in '06, kick off a blitz of new Saturns that will culminate with new Ion and Vue models in '07 and a larger sport-utility vehicle for 2008.

These new vehicles promise to be a serious upgrade over previous Saturns. Much of the new money GM will spend -- an estimated $800 million -- will go toward converting Saturn's heralded Spring Hill (Tenn.) factory to build steel-body cars instead of today's plastic bodies. (The plastic expands on hot days, so panels must be spaced far apart, giving an appearance of poor construction.) The styling and interiors of the new vehicles will be heavily influenced by GM's European studios. The goal: sell enough cars at premium prices for the division to break even around 2008. "I'm so convinced that these cars will work," says Lutz.

Even critics say the new Saturns look better than any passenger car GM has built for the mass market in decades. But transforming Saturn from a brand known for cheap small cars into one that sells a wide range of fun and fashionable rides will be a challenge of planetary proportions. Surveys show that Saturn's image is among the worst in the market. Consumers see it as a cheap alternative to Honda (HMC ) and Volkswagen. The brand took a big hit from its aging models and the L-series debacle. And it didn't help that last summer all of the nearly 250,000 Vue SUVS had to be recalled to remedy a suspension problem. In early 2004, CNW Marketing Research in Bandon, Ore., surveyed consumers and ranked Saturn's image at 31st among 38 car brands -- down from 23rd in 2002.

That's why Lutz tapped some of his top designers for the makeover. While the first Saturns had a young look to match the image of a completely new brand, later models were monuments to conservatism. This time, Lutz has seven studios around the globe crafting Saturn's new look. The original concept for the Sky was created by Simon Cox, a Brit who runs GM's London studio and had a hand in Cadillac's edgy new look. Opel designers in Germany are giving the cars some European flair. Inside they boast rich red and black leather and chrome accents. Says Dave Rand, executive director of interior styling for GM's North American operations: "We want people to be surprised it's a Saturn."

TARNISHED NAME
They'll also be surprised at the price tag. All those improvements bumped up costs, of course. While GM isn't saying how much it will lift prices, the Sky is expected to sell for a shade more than the nearly $20,000 Pontiac Solstice roadster, which uses the same engine and frame. Compare that with under $14,000 for a base-level Ion. "They're nuts," says Art Spinella, president of CNW.

Indeed, GM will be hard-pressed to convince buyers that any Saturn is worth that much. When the company showed the forthcoming Saturns to consumers in internal clinics, they registered a 3.9 on GM's 4.0 scale of acceptance -- indicating a genuine hit. But then GM slapped a Saturn emblem on the hood, and the score plummeted to a weak 2.5. "The cars look good," says AutoPacific Inc. Vice-President James N. Hall, but he jokes that "a lot of embarrassed people will be driving Saturns."

Even so, Lutz and his team say Saturn has advantages that make it worth saving. General Manager Jill A. Ladjiak points to the unit's young, educated buyers, most of whom are women. And though Saturn has had at most three models to offer, half its customers come from non-GM brands. "We've had a lean product portfolio," Ladjiak says. "Some people are surprised the brand is still standing." Lutz vows that GM will be patient as it tries to fix things. But consumers are likely to be less forgiving. If the new cars fizzle, Saturn could still find itself following Oldsmobile into early retirement.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine...6095_mz017.htm

[Steve]

I like the more aggressive styling on that saturn better than the smooth sculpted look on the pontiac

is anyone else somewhat reminded of a mini viper?

[hershie]

Originally Posted by VeriSexy

Wait, your planning on buying a car you didn't even test drive??? 170HP is not that strong, a honda civic has 160 HP ............

From what I am seeing with the Solstice here in Canada, there is more than a year wait as the first several thousand being produced are already spoken for...and I am afraid this will soon be happening with the Sky too. So that's why I rushed to put down the deposit; I do not want to wait 18 months.

I am not that concerned with the HP as much as I wanted an economical convertible sports car that is a head turner and this one just seems to fit the bill.

[hershie]

Originally Posted by Steve

I like the more aggressive styling on that saturn better than the smooth sculpted look on the pontiac

is anyone else somewhat reminded of a mini viper?

Yes, I thought "Viper" as well when I saw the front and liked it. However, when I look back and forth between front pics of the Sky and Solstice, I am wavering which I like more now. Ugh.

[Elli]

My mother bought two first year of production cars: a Pony and a Neon. She means well, honestly, but those cars were nothing but headaches from day 1.

[Doctor Dre]

Originally Posted by 363R

I wouldn't buy anything in the 1st year of production, there always seems to be problems. You also end up paying more for the car. I would never buy a Pontiac either

My parents bought a pontiac transport van (plastic ... they stopped producing it because it lasted for too long). It's a 92 and they still have it as a secondary car with over 400k kms on it (in a winter country). I've got nothing wrong to say to pontiac ;)

[hershie]

Originally Posted by Elli

My mother bought two first year of production cars: a Pony and a Neon. She means well, honestly, but those cars were nothing but headaches from day 1.

For sure that is my biggest concern. Other cars track record and logic screams out - wait a year until they work the kinks out.

[Elli]

Originally Posted by hershie

For sure that is my biggest concern. Other cars track record and logic screams out - wait a year until they work the kinks out.

That would be my instinct, as well. Put it this way: the car isn't going to get any worse for a year of waiting, it'll get better. And then people won't see you on the street and shake their head and say, "Wow, nice looking car, but why'd you get it in the first year?"

[Paraskass]

very nice car.
i like it.

[Nylz]

Looks very nice..

looks a bit like the Opel Speedster

[hershie]

Originally Posted by Nylz

Looks very nice..

looks a bit like the Opel Speedster

Not only did Opel design team and engineers help with this car, but I read there was speculation Saturn was about to change their name to Opel as the brand is tarnished a lot in North America.

[Elli]

I hate Saturns. I rented one once and there were a DOZEN "warning" lights all across the dash display! It was the most annoying car ever, hands down. My friend has one and it's just as bad. Ugh. If they made a better car, though, I might be convinced to try them again.

[Pete-KT]

NEVER buy a first year production car, i learned from that mistake

[hershie]

Originally Posted by NichePay_PeteKT

NEVER buy a first year production car, i learned from that mistake

My hope is that as the Sky is being built alongside the Solistice in the Delaware plant, but with production of the Sky starting several months after the Solstice, they will have corrected most defects by then.

[Jollyjoe]

Originally Posted by VeriSexy

Wait, your planning on buying a car you didn't even test drive??? 170HP is not that strong, a honda civic has 160 HP ............

You don't know what your talking about...I used to have a cavalier 2.2 ecotec no a/c nothing in it, and my friend had the civic sir with 160hp, and when we raced I used to beat him 1st, 2nd 3rd everytime and he is the best driver i know besides me.

[Jollyjoe]

Originally Posted by Nylz

Looks very nice..

looks a bit like the Opel Speedster

It is pretty much an opel speedster with a delta platform. It's got the 2.2 ecotec engine and 5 speed getrag transmission.
Its a good buy